Cassie
by sickoftakenpennames
Summary: (Working title) A glimpse into the past of one of Earthrealm's newest heroes. Minimal description because I wouldn't advise that you read this one-shot until you've watched the E3 footage of the characters being introduced in MK X to avoid spoilers. Rated T for language.


The crowd pressed against the glass overlooking the landing strip from the terminal, threatening to pop the panel out of place under their combined weight. Cameras flashed ceaselessly, the brightest lights available on such an overcast day. They remained trained on the subjects on the ground, an entourage of around ten or so people standing between the aircraft and two cars with darkly tinted windows. Three of them stood out from the rest; a tall man in a military beret, an excited young blond girl who couldn't be older than seven holding a small American flag, and of course, the famous face standing next to her with his hand on her shoulder. The actor held his hyperactive young daughter in place, lest she go flying in the plane's direction.

"Is she in there?" the girl asked loudly, bouncing in place as the bodyguards around her attempted to shield the group from the incessant flashing of the paparazzi's camera bulbs.

"Just hold on," Johnny told her, pushing her down as she began to squirm out from under his grip.

Despite not letting on, the action star, too, tried to restrain himself from rushing up the stairs that were now being wheeled to the plane's door. Turns out ten months had been even longer than he originally thought. But it would all be worth it now.

Another stretch of time passed as the crew on the ground worked painstakingly slowly to get everything into position. Johnny couldn't help but begin to fidget and glance around in irritation, too, even though he knew things like this had to done exactly right, and it probably hadn't even been five minutes anyway. But still, he had paid for the jet and the staff. Would it kill them to hurry it up a _little_?

Eventually, a woman in a neon yellow vest began directing the employees around her to begin clearing the way for the plane's passengers. The crew scattered about before lining up parallel to the staircase, blocking the cameras' view of the ground level. To those waiting inside the terminal, there was a beat of uneasy silence, but outside, the deafening roar of the wind drowned out the nervous thoughts swimming around in Johnny's head.

Finally, the hefty door of the plane popped out and slid slowly out of the way. There was no sunlight available to illuminate the figures inside, but it wasn't long before a familiar face took her first steps out onto the staircase. Her sandy blond hair was tucked properly underneath her military cap, and her statuesque figure was slimmed down into simple angles by her uniform. Johnny was sure everybody in the terminal could hear his daughter's ear-piercing shriek from where they stood.

"MOM!" she screamed, flapping her flag around madly as she trashed about trying to release herself from her father's grip.

"Cassie!" he tried to reprimand her, with little effect, since he himself was so preoccupied with looking at the woman stepping off of the plane, and so his comment didn't hold much of the force he had intended. Still, he managed to keep his daughter from flying off until the military officer made her way down the flight.

Sonya crouched down at the foot of the stairs, at which point Johnny finally let go of the flighty little girl, who blazed across the asphalt on her way into her mother's arms, where she was accepted warmly by an almost crushing embrace. From far off, the flashing of camera bulbs kicked into overdrive, turning the left side of everyone's field of vision into a sea of hazy afterimages.

Sonya picked her hysterical daughter up and carried her back over to her father, who stood waiting with an expectant grin and open arms.

"Welcome home, lieutenant," he greeted her, wrapping his arms around her before she could put Cassie back down. The flashing bulbs went into high gear as the suited man who had been standing next to Johnny stepped in the family's direction.

Sonya broke out of Johnny's embrace to get a good look at their new companion. He raised an arm up in a salute, revealing a metal hand underneath the hem of his suit. Beaming, the lieutenant formally returned the gesture.

"Good to see you back home, Blade," Jax greeted her, dropping his arm to his side.

"Boy, I can tell you, I feel the same way," she replied casually, putting her daughter on the ground to accept the hug she was now being offered from her C.O. Upon her release, she felt a tiny hand grabbing for her own.

"Mom! Mom!" Cassie repeated emphatically, tugging on her mother's sleeve. The questions and demands spewed rapidly from her seven-year-old lips. "Are you staying? Where'dja go? Did you fight bad guys? Did you win? Can we go to Dairy Queen?"

Blade chuckled at the last one and looked to her partner for explanation.

"I may have made some promises while you were gone…" Johnny admitted jokingly, rubbing the back of his head. Funny how ten years ago, one of those stupid jokes probably would have earned him an undeserved sock across the shoulder. Instead, now his wife just laughed it off, obviously much more preoccupied with attending to their impatient daughter.

"I'm not going anywhere for a while, Cass," she assured the child, who clutched her flag and the fabric of her mother's uniform tightly in one hand. "I promise."

"Good," Cassie responded, obviously excited that her mother was playing along. "Cuz I wasn't gonna let you, anyway."

There was a brief moment of impressed "oohs" from the group, particularly from Jax, who struggled to hide his chuckle fit with one metallic hand.

"Come on," the major cut in, putting a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "I think TMZ's got enough footage to keep the site traffic busy for a month."

"Doubt it," Johnny commented off-handedly as two security guards around Jax's size and build ushered the group into one of the stretch limousines that waited behind them. Before they could step in, however, a low rumble of thunder sounded off in the distance.

Sonya gasped and looked at her daughter.

"Cassie, you know who that is?" she said, nudging the girl playfully. "I think someone might be paying us a visit later."

Her daughter emitted a sound halfway between a gasp and an anticipatory squeal.

"Uncle Ray?" she answered, almost being cut off by her father's immediate shushing before he directed his wife and daughter into the limo's back seat.

* * *

"_Nnnnnnnnnhhh_!" Cassie whined as her mother, now only wearing her army pants and black tank top that had been her undershirt in her uniform, tried to pull the terribly frilly dress over her daughter's head, at which point a button in the back had apparently gotten caught in her baby's unruly locks. It didn't help that the wind on the runway had stirred Cassie's hair into an even more notoriously tangled mess, against which Sonya seemed to be fighting a losing battle. Normally it wouldn't have bothered Sonya too much to have Cassie walk around the house in her street clothes, but after an unfortunate accident with an Oreo Blizzard (evidence of which she and Johnny hadn't quite managed to get off their daughter's chest before they got home), she decided the dress had to come off.

"Cassie, stop it," she reprimanded the girl, who was immediately still inside the cocoon of fabric she was trapped in. "I can't get it off if you're fighting me."

They sat in the center of the floor in Cassie's room, one of the only spots clear of the Monster High and G.I. Joe dolls strewn about on the floor. Nice to know Johnny's idea of cleaning up for Mommy's big arrival was shoving seventy percent of the mess under his daughter's bed. Finally, Sonya managed to wrestle the crushed velvet dress off over her daughter's head. She picked up her daughter's Mulan pajama t-shirt and yanked it over Cassie's head before the latter could utter a word. After it was over her shoulders, Sonya attempted to work out some of the knots in the child's hair while Cassie pulled her shirt down and reached for the matching bottoms nearby.

"All right," the lieutenant sighed, leaning on her knees. She sat cross-legged behind her daughter, who now stood up to move some of her toys around, probably looking for one to take to bed with her that night. "Go brush your teeth. It's late."

Cassie groaned and swiveled around, giving her mother a pleading look to let the rules go just this one time.

"Don't bother," Sonya replied. "You know how it works."

Defeated, Cassie dropped the doll she was holding and dragged her feet across the carpet, shuffling past her mother to the hallway door. She opened it and stepped out to start walking in the bathroom's direction, but obviously didn't anticipate the hulking figure standing in her way. Cassie screamed as two crystal-white eyes peered down at her, the face they belonged to covered up to the nose with dark strips of fabric. Sonya whirled around at the sound of her daughter's shrill screech, only to find her running into her arms from the man.

"What is it?" Sonya yelled, clutching her daughter tightly as a hand made its way around the doorframe, clutching onto the wall. She watched the towering intruder lean into her view, at which point she promptly recognized their new companion.

"Oh my God, Cassie!" Sonya cried, playing up her concern for dramatic effect. "_It's the Bellybutton Thief!_"

"NOOOOOO!" the young girl shrieked in mock protest, pretending to climb over her mother's shoulder to get away from their guest. Sonya held her daughter in place as she watched the familiar conical hat come into view as the man dipped his head below the door frame.

"_I huuuungeeeeeer,"_ he growled theatrically, _"for naaaaaaavelllllllllllllls…"_

He walked over to the two, his arms outstretched ominously. Still screeching, Cassie happily managed to crawl over her mother's shoulder and make a dash for her bed, where she immediately jumped in and yanked her covers over her head, the only protection she had against the bandit.

"It's too late, Cassie!" Sonya tried to tell her daughter in between peals of laughter that had her literally on her side. "He's gonna… he's gonna get you…"

The deity continued to moan dramatically as he made his way over to the bed, yanking the covers back and wrestling playfully with a still-screaming Cassie, who erupted into a fit of high-pitched cackles.

"No!" she cried out, kicking the air in an attempt to fight him off. "You can't have it!"

"_I must_," he responded, pulling the fabric off of his face. "_Feed me!_"

He pushed her shirt up, leaning over and blowing a raspberry on her stomach, producing a sound akin to a deflating balloon. Cassie shrieked with delight, overcome by giggles.

"Mom!" she cried out, playing along and out of breath as her 'uncle' continued to tickle her. "Help me!"

Sonya continued to lay on the ground, victim to her uncontrollable laughter. She finally sat up and reached over to Raiden, tugging on his pant leg and prompting him to turn around.

"All right, all right," he said, noting his friend's red face and realizing he had not given her a proper welcoming home. He grabbed Cassie off the bed, picking her up upside-down, much to her enjoyment as evidenced by her squeals. He swirled around in place once before returning her to her upright position and settling her back down on the bed.

"Okay, Cassie," he said, kneeling down in front of her and brushing her again-mussed hair back. "Bedtime. Go do what your mother told you."

"Awww," the young girl pleaded, standing up from her bed to better meet her visitor's eye level. "You just got here."

"I know," he said, pushing her off to Sonya. "We can talk tomorrow."

Sonya guided her pouting daughter out of the room before getting on her knees and pushing herself off the ground. She brushed off her pants and readjusted her shirt, looking to her old friend. Raiden smiled at her.

"I apologize for not being there to give you a formal greeting at the airport," he said, opening his arms to his former student, a gesture she warmly accepted.

"Don't worry about it," she assured him, stepping back. "You're never far off, anyway."

He grinned at her.

"Come on," she said, waving him over to the door. "Let's go downstairs."

* * *

The group lounged around the island counter, Johnny and Sonya huddled over their cups of Bailey's cream next to each other while Jax sat on the opposite side. Raiden stood at the head of the counter. A plate of assorted cookies sat in the midst of everyone's reach.

"Let me tell you something, those ten months were a _killer,_" Johnny joked, taking a sip of the liquor, his arm draped around Sonya's shoulders. "But it's worth it to see the band back together."

Jax chortled quietly, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, nice to see you set up such an elaborate homecoming for the wifey," he chastised his friend, reaching over for another cookie.

"It's fine, Jax," Sonya interrupted before Johnny had a chance at rebuttal, leaning into her spouse's shoulder. "Sometimes the simple welcome backs are the best."

Jax snorted and shook his head.

"Wow," he muttered, biting off a chunk of the treat.

"What?" Sonya prodded, not antagonistically, but with a hint of a challenge. Jax looked directly at her.

"I just can't believe how much you've changed," he said between chews. Sonya's smile faltered a bit.

"What does that mean?" she demanded.

"Come on, Sonya," Jax replied, leaning back in his chair. "You know just like I do if Johnny had pulled this kind of shit seven years ago, we all would have seen the bruises the next day."

Sonya bristled, causing Johnny to sit upright. Raiden, too, expressed silent surprise at his friend's brash comment.

"But I mean it in a good way," Jax continued, undeterred. "You've mellowed out. For the better."

Sonya blinked, staring down into her cup.

"I guess I just have different priorities now," she commented calmly, looking up to her C.O. with a slight smirk. "And so does Johnny."

She exchanged a knowing glance with the actor, who planted a steady kiss on her cheek in response. He leaned back.

"Yeah, well," Johnny began. "Those 'priorities' almost drove me crazy while you were gone. Luckily, Uncle Ray," he said, glancing at the deity in question, "was able to distract her most of the time."

"Oh?" Sonya commented, smiling and raising an eyebrow at their towering friend. Raiden responded with a lopsided smirk.

"She is a very active child," he said. "I simply tried to redirect her energy into something more productive while you were gone."

"'Productive' for her means a nightmare for me," Johnny interrupted, taking a sip of the alcohol. Sonya glanced between the two of them.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking to Raiden for clarification she knew he would eventually be forced to offer. However, Johnny beat him to the punch.

"She asked me if we could visit Chinatown the other day," Johnny said.

"And what was the problem?" Raiden jumped in defensively.

"She asked me in _Chinese_, Raiden, that's the problem," Johnny responded loudly. "My fucking kid doesn't even speak English anymore. So how about we cool it for a while, huh, Rosetta Stone?"

"Who's that?" came a voice from the top of the staircase. Everybody at the counter whirled around to see its owner sticking her face, a younger carbon copy of Sonya's, between the rungs of the railing. Her mother promptly smacked Johnny across the shoulder for uttering the profanity in front of their daughter, despite the colorful language she was wont to let loose in front of Cassie on a regular basis.

"Daddy was just joking, honey," Sonya called up to her as her husband rubbed his now sore shoulder. "We were just talking about what a good girl you've been. Now go back to bed."

"Can I have a cookie first?" Cassie inquired, immediately oblivious to her mother's compliment.

Her parents sighed in unison. Before Sonya could issue the same command again, however, Raiden cut in.

"Come on. One treat cannot hurt," he said in a low voice, catching the couple off-guard. They looked at each other apprehensively as he picked up a wafer from the tray, pausing and waiting for their response. Johnny shrugged.

"It is a special occasion," Raiden reminded her. Sonya sighed, knowing she was fighting a losing battle the second her daughter had seen the thunder god grab that cookie.

"Fine, Cassie, just one," she called out, rubbing her eyes. She could hear the quick scamper of excited little feet barreling down the staircase. Within moments the seven-year-old was at her father's side, reaching up for the sweet treat.

"Hold on," Johnny stopped her, grabbing her hand in mid-air. "What do we say?"

Cassie blinked once before looking back to Raiden.

"_Xièxiè, léidiàn jiùjiu,"_ Cassie said innocently.

"No," Johnny barked at her. "In English." She blinked again.

"…Thank you," she said more quietly. Shooting Johnny a look, Raiden handed her the wafer without another comment.

"All right," Sonya said, looking past her husband to get a clear view of Cassie. "You got what you wanted. Upstairs."

"Hold on, Cassie," Raiden interrupted. "Why don't you show your mother what we've been practicing?"

All three adults at the table looked at their friend in befuddlement as the little girl's face lit up. She immediately shoved the entirety of the cookie into her mouth, bouncing up and down in place.

"Where do I do it?" she asked excitedly, spewing crumbs across the carpet.

"Right here is fine," Raiden said, directing her to an open space nearby in the conjoining family room. Still bouncing, Cassie ran to the spot he pointed at, turning herself around like a dog preparing a spot on a couch. Finally, when she was sure she was facing the right direction, she looked back to Raiden for guidance.

"Ready?" he asked her. She nodded enthusiastically. He bowed his head once.

"_Hajimaru!_" he hollered quickly, startling Johnny. Without a moment's hesitation, Cassie snapped into position; she stood up stick-straight, startling her parents with the sudden wave of determination that crossed her face and the self-control evident in her demeanor. She slowly drew her right arm up until her hands met on her left side, staying for a moment until she quickly dropped down to one knee, striking her tiny fist downward until her knuckles almost reached the floor. Immediately she began to a series of rapid motions, obviously according to a very specific form. Sonya stared, dumbfounded at the level of precision and intensity with which she was watching her daughter execute every step. Cassie effortlessly took three steps forward, striking the air with one arm and blocking herself with the other three times in succession. The carpet on which she performed her routine muffled her steps somewhat, but the power she clearly intended each sure footing to demonstrate was not lost on her audience. Now well into her routine, Cassie brought herself back up briefly. Slowly, she raised one knee to her waist, setting it down slowly to her left side with a level of balance and control that set Sonya's mouth agape. The level of confidence with which Cassie performed each step seemed almost on par with an instructor several years her senior.

"_Kyaaaaaiiiii!_" Cassie shouted without warning, prompting the beginning of a series of rapid punches that culminated in a 360-degree kick that she landed in perfect position. She stood up and bowed.

It was Johnny's term to stare at his daughter slack-jawed. She beamed back at him.

"Holy shi…" he started, looking up at Raiden. He caught himself mid-obscenity, rubbing the back of his neck.

"…Wow," he said finally, looking back at his daughter, who continued to smile at him.

"Great job, kiddo!" Johnny exclaimed with pride, leaning out of his seat to give his girl a high-five. "Who knew you had it in ya? Wasn't that great, babe?"

He turned around to face Sonya and stopped. The expression on her face was tight as he saw her staring back at Cassie, obviously in deep thought.

"…Go upstairs, Cassie," she finally said, taking another sip from her mug. Her daughter looked back at her with wide, questioning eyes.

"Didn't you like it, Mommy?" Cassie asked, desperate for the validation she thought she would have surely received after her performance.

"You did a good job, Cassie," Sonya replied, not looking at her daughter. "Go to bed."

Cassie stood in place for a second, looking to each adult for some kind of explanation. She saw Jax and Raiden staring back at her mother in confusion, the latter with his mouth hanging slightly open, as if he was about to say something. Seeing Cassie prompted Raiden to shut his mouth and give her a small smile.

"You heard her," Raiden said to the girl. "It is time for bed. We can talk tomorrow."

Cassie blinked back at her uncle, then back at her mother. Shrinking down, the young girl turned around and dragged her feet to the staircase, making her way up with slow, heavy footing. Nobody spoke until they heard the door to her room shut closed.

"What's the matter?" Jax asked first. Sonya was silent for a moment.

"When did she learn that?" Sonya asked curtly. It sounded like a question anybody present could have answered, but they all knew it was directed at one person. Raiden stood up straight.

"I taught her while you were gone," he confessed unabashedly. "She only has a bit more of the _enpi_ routine to memorize. Within two months she should…"

"You're not teaching her anymore," Sonya cut him off. She took another sip of the liquor.

"Why not?" Johnny asked as Raiden narrowed his eyes at her. "She's fantas…"

"You knew about this?" she turned on her husband sharply, startling him.

"Well… yeah. I mean, not really. I mean…" he stammered. "I would just let them hang out when I was busy. I heard her yelling, but, you know, I thought she was just screwing around. You know, like she was watching the movies or something. I didn't know she was actually practicing. But that's not a crime, right?"

Sonya didn't respond.

"Sonya, come on," Jax prodded. "What's the problem here? She's great. You should be proud of her."

"It's not something she needs to know," Sonya replied bitterly. She stood up from her seat abruptly and walked over to the sink, dumping the rest of the alcohol down the drain and turning on the faucet to clean out the cup.

"I disagree, Sonya," Raiden commented, turning around to face her with his arms crossed. "There is something in your daughter that could make for a great…"

"Nothing," she cut him off again, slamming the cup in the sink. She turned around to face Raiden, only barely coming up to his collarbone. "There's nothing about her that means she needs to be learning that stuff."

"Babe," Johnny called out to her, getting up from his seat. "Just calm down."

"I'm not calming down!" she almost screamed, holding her hands up to deter Johnny from approaching her. "I don't want her knowing how to fight. Raiden isn't teaching her because she's talented, Johnny. He's trying to prepare her for something."

Johnny stood still, unsure of what to say to such a ridiculous statement from his wife. He looked at Raiden, trying to express solidarity with his old friend, to say wordlessly that he knew it was bullshit.

…Right?

"Raiden?" he asked. The deity didn't turn around to face him. Instead he was silent, waiting for Sonya's heavy breathing to subside before addressing her.

"Cassie has tremendous potential, Sonya," Raiden finally spoke. "By the Gods, she is the offspring of two of the strongest fighters Earthrealm has ever known. We cannot afford to waste that kind of opportunity!"

"She's not an 'opportunity,' Raiden," Sonya barked back, her voice trembling. "She's a child. She's _my _child. Not a killing machine."

"Who said anything about her being a killing machine?" Raiden shouted back, dropping his arms to his side and stepping towards Sonya before Johnny physically intervened. "What makes you think I would ever turn somebody into that?"

"Guys," Johnny said, holding his arms out to create a barrier between the two of them. Much to his surprise, Jax had also gotten out of his seat and was now doing his best to draw Raiden back as well, but not before the latter looked Johnny dead in the eye.

"Johnny," Raiden said. "In the time I have known your daughter, did you ever think I was doing anything for her that was not in her best interest?"

Johnny didn't answer, partly because he didn't want to incur Sonya's wrath, but partly because he was busy studying his friend, thinking back to all the times he had left Cassie with Raiden. It wasn't a question of whether Raiden had ever hurt her or meant to disrespect either of her parents. He would never do that. But now he was seriously questioning if it was best for Cassie.

"I'm with Sonya on this one, Raiden," Johnny finally responded, dropping his arms. "I know you're just looking out for her. I'm not saying you can't visit her anymore, but…"

The action star looked back to his trembling wife.

"…let's keep it to a minimum for a while."

Nobody said anything else for a moment. Raiden glanced back and forth between his allies, trying to think of something else to say that would justify his actions.

"I know you're just trying to do your job, Raiden," Sonya said, pushing Johnny out of the way. "You're not trying to hurt her, I get that. But she's not your pet project."

Sonya pushed her way past Johnny, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. She was almost at the staircase when she heard Raiden make one last comment.

"She has the potential to be greater than Liu Kang ever was, Sonya," the god offered as a final attempt to bring his friend over to his side. Sonya paused without turning around.

"I'm sorry, Raiden," she said softly. "The answer is no."

She began her ascent up the staircase, leaving her three companions alone in the kitchen. Raiden looked at the ground, ashamed at the upset for which he was now responsible.

"I think you should go," Johnny commented quietly.

* * *

**So ever since gameplay footage of Cassie came out, this idea had been swimming around in my head. I'm normally not impressed with "next generation" characters, but I gotta say, she's one of the only new characters being introduced in MKX that I'm comfortable with, since it's just kind of logical that she had to exist at some point (watch the footage of Ed Boon revealing who her parents are, you guys; the audience's reaction is priceless). That being said, I'm still trying to warm up to the other new characters being introduced in the next game. I'm just apprehensive about them trying too many new things at once and not focusing on the important parts in the process. What do you guys think? Let me know what you guys are looking forward to in the next game. :)**

**Also, if you don't get the Bellybutton Thief joke, check out Raiden's story in the original Japanese mythology.**

**I'm out.**


End file.
